Wauwatosa police Chief Barry Weber is calling it quits after more than three decades leading the department.A department spokesperson said Weber will retire June 1, marking the end of a 48-year career. He spent the last 31 in Wauwatosa as chief.”You have shown dedication and professionalism throughout your career,” the spokesperson wrote in an emailed news release.Weber’s final year in Wauwatosa was perhaps his most controversial.The year 2020 started with the deadly police shooting of Alvin Cole by then-officer Joseph Mensah. It was Mensah’s third on-duty killing in five years.Protesters called for police reform and for Mensah and Weber to be fired as the chief’s support of Mensah did not waiver. Still, District Attorney John Chisholm chose not to file criminal charges in the Cole shooting, as he did with the previous two.Chisholm’s decision sparked new protests in October which included the arrest of Cole’s mother and sister along with dozens of other protesters who were accused of violating the city’s curfew.Their lawyer, Kimberley Motley, said the city inflated the fees for the citations, calling them, “unlawful tickets given by the City of Wauwatosa through its police department run by Chief Barry Weber,” according to a new complaint she sent Monday to members of the City Council.Mensah eventually resigned from his position in November.The week before he left, 12 News reported on internal police department emails where supervisors questioned and criticized Mensah’s decisions in police chases as “stupid.”At the time, Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride said he planned to meet with Weber about Mensah as well as the content and context of the emails. Monday afternoon, two months later, McBride confirmed the meeting still had not happened.Responding to Weber’s announced retirement, McBride thanked the chief for his service to the city, but said in a separate email said, “We will be discussing many things before he leaves.”
Wauwatosa police Chief Barry Weber is calling it quits after more than three decades leading the department.
A department spokesperson said Weber will retire June 1, marking the end of a 48-year career. He spent the last 31 in Wauwatosa as chief.
“You have shown dedication and professionalism throughout your career,” the spokesperson wrote in an emailed news release.
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Weber’s final year in Wauwatosa was perhaps his most controversial.
The year 2020 started with the deadly police shooting of Alvin Cole by then-officer Joseph Mensah. It was Mensah’s third on-duty killing in five years.
Protesters called for police reform and for Mensah and Weber to be fired as the chief’s support of Mensah did not waiver. Still, District Attorney John Chisholm chose not to file criminal charges in the Cole shooting, as he did with the previous two.
Chisholm’s decision sparked new protests in October which included the arrest of Cole’s mother and sister along with dozens of other protesters who were accused of violating the city’s curfew.
Their lawyer, Kimberley Motley, said the city inflated the fees for the citations, calling them, “unlawful tickets given by the City of Wauwatosa through its police department run by Chief Barry Weber,” according to a new complaint she sent Monday to members of the City Council.
Mensah eventually resigned from his position in November.
The week before he left, 12 News reported on internal police department emails where supervisors questioned and criticized Mensah’s decisions in police chases as “stupid.”
At the time, Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride said he planned to meet with Weber about Mensah as well as the content and context of the emails. Monday afternoon, two months later, McBride confirmed the meeting still had not happened.
Responding to Weber’s announced retirement, McBride thanked the chief for his service to the city, but said in a separate email said, “We will be discussing many things before he leaves.”